Sunday 12 July 2015

AMT: 12/07/15 Frozen Winters and Lost Proposal Sites

1. At what temperature do you keep the thermostat set? Summer, winter, day, night?


Well, actually, owning a thermostat is quite a new (brilliant) thing for me. We used to have a very old copper boiler which we would just put on until toasty, then turn off until frozen and repeat the cycle. 

Not exactly economical, but a HUGE improvement on my previous flat which was all inefffective electrical storage heaters, with a little antiquated counter thing into which I had to keep putting pound coins (and nothing else) as a sort of pay-as-you-go, in order to keep the electricity on. It was hugely expensive, and a huge pain in the neck to get change at the ready. Most of the time, despite a teacher salary, I simply couldn't afford to have the heating on. Once it just ran out whilst I was running a high fever in the middle of winter (I lived alone). Oh, and that winter was the coldest in England for a decade.



Hi! I will not keep you warm, but at least I'll cost you a lot of money. (via)

Such fun.

So my point? Thermostat, I love you (and keep you at 20°C - or 19, if Simon's looking). 
Oh, and I don't bother about the summer. Because the summer rarely bothers with us.

Update: 19°C = 66.2°F (I really don't understand Farenheits, so I'm trusting Google on this one.)

2. What is your favorite frozen beverage?


I am not sure I am familiar with frozen beverages, the two things seem somewhat antithetical. 

I think I had a granité once (which may be equivalent to an American "slushy", but then again, what do I know).

Didn't like it.

3. Where do you keep your keys?


In my purse, which I hang behind the door. Simon, however, seems to need to have his keys on his bedside table, which I find very strange. Anybody else does that?

4. Have you ever really been lost?


Quite a few times. 
When I was a scout, we would do what we called "raids", which was basically sending the different patrols entirely on their own with a map and some food, to reach some forlorn destination in the middle of nowhere, sleep over there and find their way back. The first year we did this - I was about 12 -, I swear the way we were supposed to take was completely overtaken with brambles, so we ended up quite severly lost and had to  resort to getting to the nearest road with a sign and call the "Chefs" so they could rescue us. Not our finest hour.

I also like getting lost on purpose when I discover a city.

Technically, we were a bit lost when Simon proposed (he was wildly improvising as his plans had to be cancelled due to simultaneous flood and drought), we were walking completely at random in Oxford - which neither of us knew - I was wondering what was wrong with him - he found a bench and voilà. But I am not sure we will ever be able to find the spot again!

5. What is the last movie you saw in the theaters?


I think it was The Hobbit. The first one. 

Man, I need to go out more...

6 comments:

  1. I used to keep mykeys beside me on the nightstand, but that was when I lived alone, so I could make a hasty escape out the window if an intruder came in (nevermind that I wouldn't be able to enter the garage to get to my car from the outside!)

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    1. Yup, Simon's reasoning was also slightly on the irrational side... ;-)

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  2. When I was in Girl Scouts, we mostly did crafts. You guys sound a lot more intense.

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    1. It was tons of fun. I was really shocked when you wrote about what the movement had become in America! (Can't vouch for Europe entirely, though, I haven't been a scout for over a decade).

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  3. Most people in the US would consider 66 way too cold. And I agree with Kendra about Girl Scouts. My daughter's troop rarely did anything outside other than gardening.

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    1. Google tells me the 20C I prefer is 68F, does that sound less chilly? Or are we really such tough cookies over here? ;-)
      That's a shame about the Girl Scouts, we had a lot of fun (and did come back dirty, covered in bramble scratches and with a sprained ankle or two - maybe not so much an option these days).

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